In-line roller skates are characterized by a plurality of rollers mounted adjacent the bottom of a shoe or boot situated one behind one another along a directional line of travel of the skate, examples of such in-lines skates are illustrated in the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,052,701; 5,028,058; 5,280,930 and 5,253,883. The use of in-line roller skates has recently increased as a popular way of getting exercise however a common problem for all in-line roller skates is slowing down and in particular when traveling down steep hills such as experienced in cities such as San Francisco and Seattle. Some early developed in-line roller skates relied on positioning the skates in a manner such as skiing but this was not very successful and as a result a drag brake of the type disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,052,701 and 5,253,883 were added to in-line roller skates.
Drag brakes offer a way of stopping but totally rely on the frictional engagement of a pad with a skating surface and as a result a skater does not always have sufficient control to achieve a stop within a desired time. U.S. Pat. No. 5,280,930 discloses a brake system with a hand held hydraulic actuator which is actuated squeezing a lever to supply a piston with pressurized fluid to move a brake pad into engagement with a side wall of the roller to reduce the rotation of the roller. Such a system offers an adequate method of stopping an in-line roller skate, however, it does not allow a skater the free use of his hands which are necessary to maintain balance. In addition, a cantilever application of a brake force as defined with this structure may place an undue force on the central bearing in the roller skate.